Washable absorbent textile fabrics



July 19, 1955 P. N. DANGEI. l-:T AL 2,713,359

wAsHABLE ABsoRBENT TEXTILE FABRICS Filed Sept. 30, 1952 INVENToRsphoenix /l ngei, dna

wAsnAnrn AnsoRnnNr TEXTILE FABRICS Phoenix N. Dangel, Boston, Mass., andHerbert Knohl,

Downers Grove, lil., assignors to The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts Application September' 30, 1952, Serial No.312,277

3 Claims. (Ci. 139-383) This invention relates to washable absorbenttextile fabrics and more particularly to a fabric adapted for use as anextra-capacity babys diaper.

While a gauze diaper of the type currently available is generallysatisfactory in ordinary use, it does not have the capacity required tomaintain the average baby reasonably dry throughout the night or overany other relatively long period of time during which it is`inconvenientto change the baby. Some mothers have resorted to the application of twodiapers to provide adequate absorbent capacity, but this arrangement isclumsy and makeshift because of the diiculty in pinning more than onediaper on a baby and the discomfort to the baby caused by the excessivebulkiness.

Various other solutions to the problem have been pro posed from time totime, such as the use of heavier yarns or of a greater number of yarnsthan are present in conventional diaper cloth. Such expedients have metwith little success because of the large increment in fabric weightnecessary to obtain the desired improvement in absorbency, and the lossof facility in the washing and drying of diapers in these more closelywoven constructions.

It is the object of this invention to provide much irnproved multi-layerabsorbent textile fabric having extra capacity for body fluids and ofsuch construction as to facilitate efcient laundering and rapid dryingfor ren use.

It is a specific object of this invention to supply such anextra-capacity diaper which will withstand repeated washing and re-usewithout substantial fraying, raveling or other deterioration.

Our invention, in its preferred form, consists of a Washable absorbenttextile structure comprising three plies of lightweight, relativelyopen-mesh fabric substantially free and independent from one anotherexcept along their selvages and in specially constructed transverseparallel spaced bar portions which define the shape of the individualdiaper or other unit, said structure further characterized in that thewarp yarns thereof are substantially equal in length. The transverse barportions of the structure comprise a layer of fabric consisting of aninterweave of multiple planes of filling yarns with the warp yarns ofthe structure to form a single layer of fabric, said layer consisting ofat least two planes of filling yarns, the maximum number of planes ofsaid filling yarns being one less than the number of plies in the mainbody portion of the fabric structure.

Reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferredembodiment of our invention, will facilitate an understanding of ourcontribution to the art.

Figure l is an isometric view of a portion of a continuous length of ournovel fabric. Figure 2 represents an individual diaper cut from thefabric of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a broken sectional view taken along theline 3-3 of Figure 1, showing the detail of the interweave in a barportion of the fabric. Figure 4 is another sectional nited tates 4latentice View taken along the line 4 4 of Figure l, illustrating theconstruction of the common selvage.

The fabric structure shown in the drawings comprises three plies 12, 13,and 14 of open-mesh cotton fabric free and independent of each other inthe main body portion 15, of the structure but interwoven at the pinkingbars 10 and along the inner edges of the selvages 11. The pinking barsand selvages are common to each of the three plies and serve to unitethe plies into a unitary textile structure. In the pinking bars, asshown in detail in Figure 3, the sets of warp yarns, 16, 17, and 18 ofeach of the three main body fabric layers are inter- Woven with theiilling yarns 19 and 20 of the pinking bars.

As the fabrics of our invention normally are intended to be severed inselected areas by pinking devices to form individual units, theconstruction of these selected areas orpinking bars is a matter ofconsiderable importance. The yarns of the pinking bars must be securelyinterwoven so that the severed edges of the individual fabric unit willresist raveling during repeated laundering and use cycles. Yet aconstruction in which the yarns are packed close to the point of jammingis impractical because of weaving diiculty and the fact that theresultant edge portion of the individual fabric unit is so inexible,rough, and harsh to the touch as to be unsuited for use as a babysdiaper.

ln our novel fabric, the pinking bar consists of filling yarns arrangedsubstantially in two planes and interwoven by warp yarns ofsubstantially equal length from each of the three fabric layers of themain body portion of the fabric, the warp yarns from each body layerweaving together the filling yarns of both planes over a total ofapproximately one-third of the warpwise distance of the pinking bar andweaving the filling yarns of a single plane over the remainder of thedistance. 1n the pinking bar shown in cross-section in Figure 3, thewarp yarns 16 of the top body fabric ply shed a pick 19 of the upperplane of filling yarns for each of their first four sheds, then shed apick 19 with a pick 20 from both upper and lower planes for their nexttwo sheds. The iirst two sheds of the warp yarns 17 of the middle bodyfabric ply each encompass a pick 2t) from the lower plane of fillingyarns; the next two sheds each encompass two picks, one being from eachplane, and the last two sheds each encompass one pick 19 from the upperplane. The warp yarns 18 of the bottom body fabric ply complete theinterweave pattern by shedding a pick from each plane in each of theirfirst two sheds and a pick 2l) of the bottom plane in each of their nextfour sheds. The interweave pattern is repeated as often as is necessaryto yield a pinking bar of the desired width.

Thus one set of warp yarns is shedding picks from both planes of fillingyarns while the other two sets of warp yarns are shedding picks from asingle plane. So long as thc total interweaving, or two-plane shedding,performed by each of the three sets of warp yarns is approximatelyequal, the frequency of change from one to two-plane shedding for anygiven set of warp yarns is not critical. For optimum resistance toraveling how ever, we prefer an interweave in which any set of warpyarns consecutively sheds filling yarns from both planes for at leasttwo and not more than six sheds.

The interweave feature of our novel fabric has particular importancewhen the woven plies of the body portion of the structure are of aconstruction suitable for diaper use, such as 30s and 40s yarns in a 40x 38 construction, because of the crowding and jamming which would becaused by any conventional interweave such as the single layer, plainWeave customarily used in the interweave of two-layer diaper cloth. Inour construction the division of the filling yarns into two planes andthe alternation of single and double-plane shedding provide a compact,ravel-resistant yet uncrowded and readily weavable structure.Furthermore, each set of warp yarns travel approximately the samedistance in the interweave portion of the fabric. This simplifies theweaving and reduces production costs since all the warp yarns may bewound on a single beam.

The selvages of our multi-layer fabric are preferably of tubularconstruction, the selvage weave pattern being such that not more thantwo consecutive warp yarns or two consecutive filling yarns follow thesame path-i. e. as in a plain, basket, or 2 X l twill weave. Such a con*struction cooperates with the other features of my invention in that itprovides a highly satisfactory selvage while at the same time avoidingthe jamming which would occur in many cases if the filling yarns fromeach of the three fabric plies were woven into the usual single plane ofwarp selvage yarns. A further advantage of the tubular construction isthat it reduces the number of picks to be shedded by the warp selvagesyarns so that these yarns travel approximately the saine distance as thebody warp yarns and all of the Warp yarns may be wound on a single beamwithout excessive breakage due to unequal take-up. As appears fromFigure 4 of the drawings, the tubular selvage is constructed byinterweaving the filling yarns or picks 22 and 24, of all three mainbody plies with warp yarns of the selvage 28 and 30, which are in twoplanes or plies. At the inner margin 32 of the selvage, the picks of atleast one of the body plies divide, pick 22 of the top body ply passinginto the top ply of the selvage, and next successive pick 24 of the topbody ply passing into the lower selvage ply, as seen in Figure 4. Thepicks from the other body plies may likewise divide, if desired, asshown in Figure 4. All of the picks from all of the body plies pass intoand continue around the outer margin 34 of the selvage.

For the sake of simplicity and ease in weaving, the construction of theselvage is preferably the same along the pinking bar portions of ourfabric as along the threelayer body portion. Alternatively the selvagesof the three-layer portion of the fabric may be tubular and the selvagesof the pinking bars of the same construction as the pinking bars.

With respect to the size and count of the yarns our new fabric may bewoven in a Wide Variety of constructions, depending on the particularuse for which it is intended. In a diapercloth construction, the threadcount of each ply may be as low as 32 X 28 or as high as 52 X 48 and theyarns may vary between l8s and 40s, the higher numbers, of course, beingused in the fabric plies having the higher thread counts.

We prefer to use boiled and bleached cotton yarns because of their highdurability and absorbency, but the yarns or a portion of them may becomposed of or contain any other freely water-wettable cellulosicmaterial such as kapok, linen, ramie, and regenerated cellulose. Alsofibers, yarns, or filaments of a less hydrophilic nature may be employedin minor proportion with a corresponding decrease in absorbency Withoutdeparting from the spirit of our invention.

In connection with the use in the structure of materials other thancotton, it should be noted that yarns or iibers of high absorbency butrelatively low wet strength and/or abrasion resistance can beadvantageously incorporated in the middle body fabric layer since thislayer is protected from direct wear during use.

In a typical commercial product of our invention, designed for diaperuse, 25s and 35s bleached cotton yarns are used in the warp and iillingrespectively, and the thread count of each ply of the body portion ofthe fabric is 40 x 40. The construction of the interweave or pinking baris identical with that shown in Figure 3, the width of the pinking barbeing about 11/2 inches and representing l2 repeats of the weaveillustrated. The plain weave tubular sclvage shown in Figure 4 isernployed along the entire length of each edge of the fabric, i6 warpyarns being used in the salvage to provide a width of about 3/Is-inch.

The textile fabrics of this invention possess an unusual combination ofproperties which suit them ideally for use as eXtra-capacity babysdiapers. The three plies of fabric provide a significant improvement inabsorbent apacity over the conventional diaper yet the light, relativelyopen-rnesh construction of the plies and their substantial independencefrom one another facilitate washing ano rapid. drying. Due to theinterweave design of the pinking bars, the severed edges of theindividual diapers are highly resistant to raveling yet not so stili orharsh as to chate or irritate a babys delicate skin. Tests havedemonstrated convincingly that a diaper manufactured according to ourinvention is far easier to apply to a baby than a plurality of ordinarydiapers and remains in place on the baby with less bunching or bulking.

While our invention has been described with particular reference to amulti-layer woven fabric having three plies in its main body portionsand two planes of filling yarns in its pinking bars, useful structuresmay be woven according to the principles set forth herein in which therefour or more body fabric plies and pinking bars having two or moreplanes of filling yarns but a lesser number of planes than there arebody fabric plies.

We claim:

l. A washable, absorbent, ".voven multi-layer textile structure fordiapers comprising a body portion consisting of at least three bodyplies of light-weight open mesh fabric substantially free andindependent from one another, selvage portions which are common to allof the three layers of the main body plies serving to unite the multipleplies into a unitary textile structure and spaced apart parallelinterwoven substantially ravel resistant transverse bar portions whichalso serve to unite the plies into a unitary textile structure, saidparallel interwoven bar portions being adapted to be severed by pinkingmeans and consisting of an interweave of the warp yarns of each of themain body plies with filling yarns lying in at least two planes, themaximum number of said planes of filling yarns being at least one lessthan the number of plies in the main body portion, the warp yarns of thestructure being substantially of equal length, and the weave shcdsformed by the Warp yarns from every main body ply encompassing picksfrom at least two planes of lling yarns for a minimum of two consecutivesheds.

2. A washable, absorbent, woven textile structure for diapers having atleast three free and independent body plies and a two-ply tubularselvagc, successive picks in at least one of said body plies dividing atthe inner margin of the selvage, one of said picks passing into one plyof the selvage and the next successive pick in said body ply passinginto the other ply of the selvage, all of the picks from all of the bodyplies passing into and continuing around the outer margin of thesalvage.

3. A washable, absorbent, woven multi-layer textile structure fordiapers comprising a body portion consisting of at least three bodyplies of light-weight open mesh fabric substantially free andindependent from one another; a two-ply tubular selvage serving to uniteall three layers into a unitary textile structure said selvage beingformed by successive picks in at least one of said main body pliesdividing at the inner margin of the selvage, one of said picks in saidbody ply passing into one ply of the selvage and thc next successivepick in said body ply passing into the other ply of the selvage, all ofthe picks from all of the body plies passing into and continuing aroundthc outer margin of the selvage; and spaced apart parallel interwovensubstantially ravel-resistant transverse bar portions which also serveto unite the plies into a unitary structure, said parallel interwovenbar portions being adapted to be severed by pinking means and consistingof an interweave of warp yarns of each of the main body plies withfilling yarns lying in at least two planes, the maximum number of saidplanes of lilling yarns being at least one less than the number of pliesin the main body portion, the warp yarns of the structure beingsubstantially of equal length, and the weave sheds formed by the warpyarns from every main body ply encompassing picks from at least twoplanes of lling yarns for a minimum of two consecutive sheds.

Referenees Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS570,174 Knight Oct. 27, 1896 6 Knibbs Aug. 23, Robitschek Nov,. 29,Jennings Aug. 13, Gaynor Oct. 7, Sayers May 24, Wallin July 4,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Ian. 28,

